going "digital native"...

[Mia Kalish]

Greetings, 

I read the Prensky article, and having been involved in technology since
Kendall Square Cambridge was a dirt parking lot, I can answer that question:
differently to the Digital Immigrants who are still searching for what to do
with the new technology.

As for Indigenous youth, one of my friends teaches technology and computer
usage. I haven't seen the widespread use of technology as described in the
Prensky article . . . .  Because the kids don't have it.

First, there are no cell phones. Grants don't provide cell phones for
employees children. This leaves out text messaging, video sharing, and of
course, my personal fav, "group solution of exams", called by the Digital
Immigrants, "cheating".
 
Second, there are few to no computers at home. In a recent give-away of
replaced computers, the distributed computers had only basic software, and
the students didn't know how to acquire and configure the games they liked.
Also, no internet at home. So, the computers ended up in pawn shops.

Third, the computers at school are totally locked down. Part of this is due
to the fact that students download music and porn, or perhaps people
anticipate that they will download porn and have struggled with the
music-bound viruses. Under this is the fact that schools purchase 'major'
virus protection that simply doesn't work all the time, and when a school of
600 computers gets infected, the problem is formidable, especially since
there is so little technological skill among the teachers. Another factor
that I find totally curious is that schools that have 600 to 1000 computers,
that are brand new, have only one technology person. For this building where
I am writing from, we have 100 computers max, not counting the lab, and we
have 6-8 tech people at any given point in time, plus people who are using
them who are computer literate.

Finally, what I have seen in practice is that older people, regardless of
whether they are Indigenous or not, fight against the use of technology. In
non-Indigenous communities, where people can go more freely from place to
place, and where their friends have technology, Digital Natives can get
around the old people's restrictions (clearly I am of this breed). However,
on reservations, kids don't have this much opportunity, so if there is a
political battle going on over whether technology should  be brought in, who
should do it, and what it should do, the kids are generally caught in the
middle. 

Whew!

On the bright note (for me, anyway), when Indigenous kids get access to
technology, and when some Digital Immigrant is not hanging around, telling
them the "right"  (read "limited") way to do something, they are just as
interested and creative as the kids described by Prensky.

Mia
 




On 2/21/05 1:43 AM, "Greg Dickson" <linguist3 at KATHLANGCENTRE.ORG.AU> wrote:

>> The Emerging Online Life of the Digital Native:
>> What they do differently because of technology, and how they do it
> 
> 
> 'differently' to who?
> 
> sorry... can't help myself sometime... PC police....
> 
> Greg Dickson
> Linguist
> Ngukurr Language Centre
> PMB 6
> via Katherine  NT  0852
> Ph/Fax: 08 8975 4362
> Email: greg.dickson at kathlangcentre.org.au
> On 21/02/2005, at 4:58 PM, phil cash cash wrote:
> 
>> tá'ts haláxpa (good day),
>> 
>> I came across the below article awhile back and would be curious of
>> your
>> impressions on how Prensky's concept of the (non-ethnic) "digital
>> native" might be applicable to indigenous youth.
>> 
>> My thought is that the "digital divide" is still too great to describe
>> indigenous youth as "digital native(s)".
>> 
>> What are you thoughts?
>> 
>> By Marc Prensky, 2004
>> http://www.marcprensky.com/writing/default.asp
>> 
>> Phil Cash Cash
>> UofA, ILAT
>> 
>